Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste

[justaround]

It's been a very long time since I've been here last. Most probably didn't notice, what's with me being some random anyway, but despite rather hectic situation in real life I finally got to play some more X-Com files and now I do my part reporting some things.

First a couple of issues when I tried to run the game in Brutal OXCE to test the facilities mod (I really like the smaller garages for smaller vehicles) - posting them just in case someone can confirm/deny they're really BOXCE fault and its dev(s) should be notified or not:

- Some things I found and got from land surveys yet I couldn't research: [regular] secret files (despite still having some of its dossiers unknown, top secret files works fine), human sacrifice, [generic] corpse
- Can't use melee with some guns, only those who had special attack (bayonet etc) given to them. Just no firing mode option for that. However, operatives have no problem bashing things with rifles in melee reaction fire.
- Taser cannon can and will be used by everyone. Random Strange Life Form mission with zombies, civilians ran straight for my van to pick up some. Police vs Monsters mission - some policemen AND a zombie knight who first panicked and dropped his greatsword also ran for my vehicle and picked some taser cannons to use. Men, monsters and supernatural creatures, all united in harmony by the prospect of zapping others.
- In general, I am pretty confident the above is a common issue in regular OXCE, with many creatures having no problem with putting their claws/paws/hands on X-Com guns and using them with no issue - but just in case I am wrong...

Some other stuff, with game run in OXCE/likely unrelated to BOXCE

- Inconsistency: autopsy of a muckstar reported that the creature generates and uses bioelectrity, live muckstar research day later told me it attacks with psionic abilities.
- I found a canister gun. I could research it and then have its recipe in the workshop, despite never acquiring, yet alone researching a single piece of alien alloy it requires.
- In general, perhaps some entries for certain otherwordly creatures and cult units should be slightly changed to "uses unknown, possibly yet not understood, paranormal means" rather than declaring psionics, since one can research and being told about their abilities long before metapsychology prerequisite and coining the term in-game happens.
- Exorcism (haunted house) mission - loadout items all spawned outside the evacuation zone making the player lose it all should they evacuate (screenshot)
- Some text strings missing (screenshots)

[Juku121]

- Some things I found and got from land surveys yet I couldn't research: [regular] secret files (despite still having some of its dossiers unknown, top secret files works fine), human sacrifice, [generic] corpse

I tried a test run with BOXCE 8.5.4/7.12.7, 3.4 snapshot for XCF, and could research all 41 topics from a regular secret files item in succession. So you'd have to provide a save and version numbers if there's indeed a corner case somewhere that doesn't let you research something.

Civilian corpses, including sacrfices, have never been researchable. They're there to drain your coffers (or base storage, if you cheap out).

- Can't use melee with some guns, only those who had special attack (bayonet etc) given to them. Just no firing mode option for that. However, operatives have no problem bashing things with rifles in melee reaction fire.

I suspect that what you're seeing is the agents reaction-punching their opponents. Virtually anyone has a somewhat hidden 'fist' attack.

- Taser cannon can and will be used by everyone.

Ever since civilians got combat AI, they've been magpies coveting your weapons. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

BOXCE should have some extra checks to make enemies avoid getting booby-trapped by picking up an unsuitable weapon. Stuff like big plasmas with no ammo. I think this extends to civilians as well, but not sure.

- Inconsistency: autopsy of a muckstar reported that the creature generates and uses bioelectrity, live muckstar research day later told me it attacks with psionic abilities.

Muckstars track their prey with psionics (psi-vision 30), they don't blast them with it.

The rest seem genuine.

[justaround]

Thanks for checking/confirmations/pointing out potential other explanations for issues.

I tried a test run with BOXCE 8.5.4/7.12.7, 3.4 snapshot for XCF, and could research all 41 topics from a regular secret files item in succession. So you'd have to provide a save and version numbers if there's indeed a corner case somewhere that doesn't let you research something.

The topics could be researched in that one could get their dossiers from elsewhere (interrogations), it's the documents item itself with them that is not visible in my research screen. I went much further in the game in the saves I have after writing the issue down and I'd have to start a new game now to get to that issue. If I'll have more time and find some will, with no promises - I will do so and attach a save if the issue will keep on happening. Could something Facility Expansion Pack, Resound, Elite Commendations or Alternative Art affect such? I hd cursory look through what I could find and it didn't really affect the item.

I am playing the latest "stable", which is 3.3.1 of XCF on OXCE Brutal 7.12.7 8.5.3 (v2024-05-15).

[psavola]

The most probable reason is that you have accidentally hidden the Secret Files research topic in the research screen and therefore can't see it on the main screen. Or you've after hiding it disabled the extended research options and you can't get it back except by save file editing or turning the option back on (this "problem" has already been reported once here).

[justaround]

Very possible. Again, if I'll start a new game, I'll check. In the meantime, before I'll disappear again, reporting:

- Rosary doesn't appear in loadout at all. Not even religious gear category. It'd be nice if one could get it and the cross as regular items to be used during anti-ghost missions even when not undercover as priests.

[Juku121]

I think Solarius once said the reasoning was that the rosaries draw their power from the actual priests, and thus persist in their combat-useful form only for a short time.

Edit: I was wrong, he said that about crosses. Rosaries are just there to look pretty and provide priest-related research.

[Solarius Scorch]

Fixed the Canister Gun manufacturing, thanks.

The problem with missing translations seems to be on your end; probably some other mod is breaking custom briefings (the background is also wrong).

[DSeyka]

Seems like environmental effects can sometimes cause the loss of loot, see this thread for details and potential avenues of fixing.

[Blazen]

Found a slight map bug, if the entrance to the caves spawns next to this tile you can jump over the wall into it.

[anyname]

commendations_XCOMFILES.rul

Maybe it's intended this way, but it seems out-of-line that commendations for newest Dragon Breath weapons have single "Associated Commendations" type - Purifier.

[Purifier]&[Gunslinger/Trooper/Assaulter/Cannoneer] for pistol, rifle, SMG and Heavy would be more fitting.

[karnaugh_map]

Any facility can be built over the HQ because canBeBuiltOver is set to true. It can be set to false and then only the Cyber HQ can built over it because it has the required buildOverFacilities property.

Similar situation for the Intel Lab, Sick Bay, and Minigun.

[justaround]

A couple of more bugs, ghost with a knife and misleading research description.

[Juku121]

How so? Kyberos aren't exactly low-level augments.

[Solarius Scorch]

Seems like environmental effects can sometimes cause the loss of loot, see this thread for details and potential avenues of fixing.

OXCE devs are already looking at this issue.

Found a slight map bug, if the entrance to the caves spawns next to this tile you can jump over the wall into it.

Thx, will investigate.

commendations_XCOMFILES.rul

Maybe it's intended this way, but it seems out-of-line that commendations for newest Dragon Breath weapons have single "Associated Commendations" type - Purifier.

[Purifier]&[Gunslinger/Trooper/Assaulter/Cannoneer] for pistol, rifle, SMG and Heavy would be more fitting.

Kind of intended, as these weapons are just a bit too alien to fall into standard categories. This is why they are considered special weapons and give a rarer commendation (flame weapon related) instead. But I admit it's rather arbitrary.

Any facility can be built over the HQ because canBeBuiltOver is set to true. It can be set to false and then only the Cyber HQ can built over it because it has the required buildOverFacilities property.

Similar situation for the Intel Lab, Sick Bay, and Minigun.

You're probably right (admittedly I never knew how exactly this works); but I am not sure what other people think, maybe they like the current setup. Feedback welcome.

A couple of more bugs, ghost with a knife

Hmm, the eyes shouldn't have inventory, so I wonder how this happened. I blocked its hand slots, should be fine now.

and misleading research description.

What Juku121 said. Or perhaps it's about something else?

[psavola]

Any facility can be built over the HQ because canBeBuiltOver is set to true. It can be set to false and then only the Cyber HQ can built over it because it has the required buildOverFacilities property.

Similar situation for the Intel Lab, Sick Bay, and Minigun.

SS asked for feedback, so here goes.

If this means that you can, for example, upgrade a Sick Bay into barracks or alien containment in a few days (as you seem to suggest), this would clearly qualify as a bug (or "unintended side-effect") in the definitions. This kind of unrestricted build-over property should only be possible for specific, well thought out facilities (e.g. corridors or "empty rooms" that some mods have).

Obviously you should be able to build virtual HQ on top of HQ, Adv Intel Lab on top of Intel lab, Adv Sick bay on top of Sick bay, and replace minigun turrets with any of the more recent turret options. For the turrent case some other build-overs could also be considered (IIRC it looks awfully lot like an access lift? - But I didn't quite think this through.).